Cardinals Real and Unreal

There is at least one cardinal who lives on my block. He is fairly bold so I've been able to take his picture with my phone while I was walking the dog. These two pictures were taken five days apart.

Wild Bird Wednesday 

I decided to show you some AI pictures of cardinals so I went to FreeImageGenerator and tried to create pictures of northern cardinals  in different artist’s styles. Some of them were ridiculous and some are passable. Artificial intelligence still has a long way to go.

Only the first one looks like the birds I had in mind. The algorithm seems to use some artistic license.

 

A Red Caboose and a Railway Turned Trail

Herndon, VA

Tuesday Treasures / Wordless / Ruby Tuesday

The W&OD Railway and Jim Crow Lawsp

“As with other rail lines in Virginia, the Southern was required to have a separate car for African-Americans and Native Americans to ride in as a way to comply with the law.

After 1912, this wasn’t always possible since the W&OD usually ran single passenger cars, so separation of the races occurred within the cars with African-Americans seated to the rear.”

Under the Sea in Plastic

Berkeley Springs, WV

 I was surprised to find this mural in the theater room of the “Ice House,” home to a gallery of the Morgan Arts Council. This is a mosaic made of repurposed plastic by students at the Warm Springs Intermediate School. Sea creatures are being affected by plastic that makes its way into the ocean.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Over the Mountain Art and Scenery

Studio tours are always special because they combine Open Doors tours with art. This weekend there were two separate tours northeast of here, and they were close together although one was in West Virginia and the other was in Virginia. It still seems odd to me that part of West Virginia is northeast of where I live in Virginia, but it is an odd-shaped state, carved out of Virginia during the Civil War. Most of West Virginia is west of here, but not Jefferson County.

The Over the Mountain Studio Tour takes place there. I didn't venture into the western part of Jefferson County this time because I got a late start (as I often do) and decided to stick to Charles Town and Harpers Ferry. The studio near Harpers Ferry was near the small town of Bakerton, which I had never seen before. The road was interesting and the scenery was great. There were dozens of deer grazing near the road so I had to drive cautiously. 

The Methodist Church in Bakerton is interesting architecturally.

I purchased a small collage at a group show at Cool Spring Nature Preserve near Charles Town. The artist is Linda Case, founder of Craftworks and the nature preserve around it. I posted pictures of Craftworks back in November 2015.

I invited Frank to go with me because he likes art tours and is willing to help supervise my dog. Charlie is still suffering from separation anxiety so I can’t leave him alone for more than a few minutes.

Yesterday I attended the West Virginia tour and today I drove to Lovettsville for the Catoctin Holiday Art Tour. I’ve done that tour before also but there’s always something new. Again, the scenery is beautiful.

 

Dog Park Update from Charlie

Hi, it's Charlie with some pictures from the dog park. It's the best place to go, and whenever we get in the car, I hope Mom is taking us there.

Here I am with some friends. When another dog approaches the park, we look out the fence to see who they are and maybe say hello.

I will show you some of my friends now.

The beagle on the bench is not me. His name is Rip and he is younger than me. Do you see the dog behind him? That’s my friend Foxy. Sometimes she plays a little rough but that is okay because I can run faster than she can. 

The odd picture is something my mom put here. I think I look better than this and I am not orange. 

An Afternoon in Fort Valley

These pictures are from almost two weeks ago, when fall color was at a high point. Many of the leaves have fallen since then.

The annual Fort Valley Arts and Crafts Show is always interesting, and the area is beautiful. I bought some paintings from artist Billy Smelser. He made sure they were signed.

I made a circuit drive by entering the valley through Edinburg Gap and exiting near the fish hatchery. I drove past Shenandoah River Lakes where we used to live. Someone is building a house on the lakefront lot that we sold several years ago. The lake looked pretty. Sometimes I miss the views that we had there.

Getting Up Early

I had gotten into the habit of staying up late and getting up late, but having a dog has changd that. Charlie likes to get out early for his first walk of the day. Fortunately I've been able to get him to wait until there is at least a glimmer of light in the sky.

My neighbor’s welcome sign is cute but I feel like more is needed for Tom’s sign linkup. Here’s one that made me stop to take a picture.

 

Simply Ducks

The male mallard duck is easily recognized by it bright green head. The female is not as showy although I think she is nice looking. 

Wild Bird Wednesday

 

Herndon’s Historic Railroad Station

Circa 1858

Links:
Tuesday Treasures
Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday 
Raiders and Rangers

Herndon Station Raid

..."Mosby gleefully reported that he had taken 25 prisoners—a major (Wells), 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, and 21 men, all their arms, 26 horses, and equipments.”